Image processing method and device for composite selfie image composition for remote users

ABSTRACT

A device and method for composite selfie image composition for remote users, includes a first image-capture device that communicates a first notification message to a second image-capture device associated with a second user. The first notification message includes a request to capture a second self-portrait image of the second user, a user-identifier of a first user associated with the first image-capture device and first face coordinates of the first user. The second self-portrait image and second face coordinates of the second user is received from the second image-capture device. By face normalization on a portion of the second self-portrait image, a second face size of the second user is adjusted in accordance with a first face size in a first self-portrait image of the first user. A first output image, for example, a composite selfie, is generated based on at least the face normalization.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

None.

FIELD

Various embodiments of the disclosure relate to image capture and imageprocessing technologies. More specifically, various embodiments of thedisclosure relate to an image processing method and device for compositeselfie image composition for remote users.

BACKGROUND

In certain scenarios, a user may capture a self-portrait image (alsoreferred to as a “selfie”) in a certain location. The user may also wantfriends, family members, or other users who may not be present in thatlocation, to be a part of the self-portrait image. In the process oftaking the “selfie”, if the captured image (i.e. the self-portrait imageconsists of two or more users) then such captured image may alsoreferred to as the “usie”. The “usie” may also be referred to as a“collective selfie”, a “composite selfie”, a “selfie of a group”, orsimply a “group-selfie”. Existing image processing and editingtechniques enable editing or merging of different images into one image.However, the resulting self-portrait image (for example, the “usie”)looks artificial and contains artifacts that are visually unpleasant toa viewer. Therefore, an advanced image processing system may bedesirable for composite selfie image composition for remote users.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditionalapproaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, throughcomparison of described systems with some aspects of the presentdisclosure, as set forth in the remainder of the present application andwith reference to the drawings.

SUMMARY

An image processing method and device for composite selfie imagecomposition for remote users, is provided substantially as shown in,and/or described in connection with, at least one of the figures, as setforth more completely in the claims.

These and other features and advantages of the present disclosure may beappreciated from a review of the following detailed description of thepresent disclosure, along with the accompanying figures in which likereference numerals refer to like parts throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary networkenvironment for composite selfie image composition for remote users, inaccordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIGS. 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F, 1G, 1H, and 1I, collectively illustrateexemplary operations for composite selfie image composition for remoteusers, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary image-capturedevice, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C, collectively, illustrate an exemplary scenario forimplementation of the disclosed method and device for composite selfieimage composition for remote users, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following described implementations may be found in the disclosedimage processing method and device for composite selfie imagecomposition for remote users. Exemplary aspects of the disclosure mayinclude an image-capture device that comprise a memory configured tostore a first self-portrait image of a first user associated with thefirst image-capture device along with first face coordinates of thefirst user. The first self-portrait image may include a selected or adefault background. The image-capture device may also include an imageprocessor configured to communicate a first notification message to asecond image-capture device associated with a second user. The firstnotification message may include a request to capture a secondself-portrait image of the second user, a user-identifier of a firstuser and the first face coordinates of the first user. The imageprocessor may be configured to receive the second self-portrait imageand second face coordinates of the second user from the secondimage-capture device based on the communicated first notificationmessage. The image processor may be further configured to adjust, byface normalization on a portion of the second self-portrait image, asecond face size of the second user in accordance with a first face sizeof the first user. The adjustment by face normalization may be donebased on the first face coordinates and the second face coordinates. Theimage processor may be further configured to generate a first outputimage in which the portion of the second self-portrait image may beoverlaid on a background region of the selected background of the firstself-portrait image of the first user in a first image composition. Thefirst output image may be generated based on at least the facenormalization.

In accordance with an embodiment, the image processor may be furtherconfigured to receive an input to select a distant-selfie mode via anapplication stored in the memory to initiate the first output imagegeneration process. The image processor may be further configured toadjust, by height normalization on the portion of the secondself-portrait image, a second height level of the second facecoordinates in the first image composition in accordance with a firstheight level of the first face coordinates. The first face coordinatesof the first user may be detected based on capture of the firstself-portrait image of the first user.

In accordance with an embodiment, the image processor may be furtherconfigured to tag a first region inside the first face coordinates and asecond region located vertically below the first face coordinates as aforeground region. A third region that excludes the foreground region inthe first self-portrait image may be tagged as the background region.The image processor may be further configured to substitute a firstbackground of the first self-portrait image with a second background,based on a selection of a background image from a plurality ofbackground images pre-stored in the memory.

In accordance with an embodiment, the image processor may be configuredto detect a facial expression of the first user based on capture of thefirst self-portrait image of the first user. The image processor may befurther configured to communicate display instruction of a firstgraphical emotion indicator, which may be indicative of the detectedfacial expression of the first user, to the second image-capture devicevia the first notification message. The first graphical emotionindicator may be displayed within the first face coordinates on thesecond image-capture device based on the display instruction. The firstgraphical emotion indicator displayed within the first face coordinatesmay be a reference, indicative of a first emotional state of the firstuser, to allow the second user to pose in a second emotional statesimilar to the first emotional state of the first user.

In accordance with an embodiment, the image processor may be furtherconfigured to communicate a second notification message to a thirdimage-capture device associated with a third user. The secondnotification message may include a request to capture a thirdself-portrait image of the third user, the user-identifier of the firstuser, the first face coordinates of the first user, and the receivedsecond face coordinates of the second user. The first face coordinatesand the second face coordinates are displayed on the third image-capturedevice as a reference based on capture of the third self-portrait imageof the third user. The reference may be indicative of a position of thefirst user and the second user relative to third face coordinates of thethird user in the third self-portrait image.

In accordance with an embodiment, the image processor may be furtherconfigured to receive the third self-portrait image and the third facecoordinates of the third user from the third image-capture device basedon the communicated second notification message. The image processor maybe further configured execute the face normalization and the heightnormalization on a portion of the third self-portrait image, based onthe first face coordinates, the second face coordinates, and the thirdface coordinates.

In accordance with an embodiment, the image processor may be configuredto automatically generate a second output image in which the portion ofthe second self-portrait image and the portion of the thirdself-portrait image are concurrently overlaid on the background regionof the selected background of the first self-portrait image of the firstuser in a second image composition, based on at least the facenormalization and the height normalization. In some embodiments, theimage processor may be configured to determine whether a detected faceof a user at the time of capture of a self-portrait image of the user iscorrect or a false-positive. The false-positive related to facedetection may be determined based on detected biological cues, such aseye blink, face movement, or a movement of facial tissue in a preview atthe time of capture of a self-portrait image.

FIG. 1A is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary networkenvironment for composite selfie image composition for remote users, inaccordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. With reference to FIG.1A, there is shown a network environment 100. The network environment100 may include a plurality of image-capture devices, such as a firstimage-capture device 102 a, a second image-capture device 102 b, and athird image-capture device 102 c, a server 104, and a communicationnetwork 106. A user, such as a first user 108 a, a second user 108 b,and a third user 108 c, may be associated with each of the plurality ofimage-capture devices. A camera application, such as applications 112 a,112 b, and 112 c, may be installed in each of the plurality ofimage-capture devices. The plurality of image-capture devices and theserver 104 may be communicatively coupled to each other, via thecommunication network 106.

Each of the plurality of image-capture devices, such as the firstimage-capture device 102 a, the second image-capture device 102 b, andthe third image-capture device 102 c, may comprise suitable circuitry,interfaces, and/or code that may be configured to receive one or moreself-portrait images and face coordinates of one or more users fromother image-capture devices. Each of the plurality of image-capturedevices, such as the first image-capture device 102 a, may be configuredto generate a final output image, such as a composite selfie (i.e. a“usie”), based on the received one or more self-portrait images.Examples of the plurality of image-capture devices may include, but arenot limited to a smartphone, a tablet, a digital camera, a camcorder, ahead-mounted device (HMD), a smart-glass, a virtual reality-, mixedreality-, or an augmented reality-based device, and/or other consumerelectronic (CE) devices.

The server 104 may comprise suitable circuitry, interfaces, and/or codethat may be configured to store one or more self-portrait imagescaptured by each of the plurality of image-capture devices. Examples ofthe server 104 may include, but are not limited to, a database server, afile server, an application server, a cloud server, a web server, or acombination thereof.

The communication network 106 may include a communication medium throughwhich the plurality of image-capture devices may be communicativelycoupled with each other and the server 104. Examples of thecommunication network 106 may include, but are not limited to, theInternet, a cloud network, a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) network, a LocalArea Network (LAN), and/or a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN). Variousdevices in the network environment 100 may be configured to connect tothe communication network 106, in accordance with various wired andwireless communication protocols. Examples of such wired and wirelesscommunication protocols may include, but are not limited to, at leastone of a Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol (TCP/IP),User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), FileTransfer Protocol (FTP), ZigBee, EDGE, IEEE 802.11, light fidelity(Li-Fi), 802.16, IEEE 802.11s, IEEE 802.11g, multi-hop communication,wireless access point (AP), device to device communication, cellularcommunication protocols, or Bluetooth (BT) communication protocols,including variants and/or a combinations thereof.

Each camera application, such as the applications 112 a, 112 b, and 112c, comprise suitable logic and/or code that may be configured to enablethe remote users, such as the first user 108 a, the second user 108 b,and the third user 108 c, to initiate a composite selfie generationprocess to obtain a composite selfie that mimics a “usie” capturedtogether. The applications 112 a, 112 b, and 112 c, enables registrationof respective users or devices for a distant selfie service for thecomposite selfie generation process.

In operation, the first user 108 a may provide an input on the firstimage-capture device 102 a to launch the first application 112 a. Thefirst user 108 a may provide an input to register the firstimage-capture device 102 a to a distant selfie service by use of thefirst application 112 a. For example, the first image-capture device 102a may be registered by a user-identifier, such as a mobile number of thefirst user 108 a, by use of the first application 112 a. The firstimage-capture device 102 a may be configured to receive an input toselect a distant-selfie mode via the first application 112 a stored inthe first image-capture device 102 a to initiate a composite selfiegeneration process. The first image-capture device 102 a may beconfigured to select desired users, for example, the second user 108 band the third user 108 c, to whom requests for a composite selfie are tobe sent.

In accordance with an embodiment, the first image-capture device 102 amay be configured to receive an input to select, by use of the firstapplication 112 a, a background for a selfie to be captured. A pluralityof background images may be pre-stored in the first image-capture device102 a. For example, images of famous places or user-selected images maybe stored as background images in the first image-capture device 102 a.Such images may be displayed via the first application 112 a on thefirst image-capture device 102 a for the selection. In some embodiments,an actual scene behind the first user 108 a may be selected as an actualbackground. For example, the first user 108 a may select “Yourbackground” option, where an initiator's actual background (such asactual background scene of the first user 108 a) is selected for thefinal composite selfie image. Thereafter, the first user 108 a maycapture a selfie, such as the first self-portrait image 110 a, by thefirst image-capture device 102 a.

In accordance with an embodiment, the first image-capture device 102 amay be configured to detect a facial region of the first user 108 a in afirst field-of-view of the first image-capture device 102 a at the timeof capture of the first self-portrait image 110 a. For example, a facerectangle that includes the facial region of the first user 108 a may bevisible on a display screen of the first self-portrait image 110 a, atthe time of capture of the first self-portrait image 110 a. In caseswhere the selected background is different from the actual backgroundscene of the first user 108 a (i.e. when a stored background image isselected), the first image-capture device 102 a may be configured toremove an actual background region of the first self-portrait image 110a. In such cases, a foreground-background matrix may be created by thefirst image-capture device 102 a for the background removal. An exampleis shown and described in FIG. 1B.

FIGS. 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F, 1G, 1H, and 1I, collectively illustratesexemplary operations for composite selfie image composition for remoteusers, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. FIGS. 1B to1I are explained in conjunction with elements from FIG. 1A. Withreference to FIG. 1B, there is shown a first region 114 a, a secondregion 114 b, and a third region 116 in the first self-portrait image110 a.

In accordance with an embodiment, the first image-capture device 102 amay be configured to tag the first region 114 a inside first facecoordinates of the first user 108 a as a foreground region. In someembodiments, the first face coordinates may refer to coordinates of aboundary of the facial region of the first user 108 a obtained at thetime of the face detection of the first user 108 a. In some embodiments,the first face coordinates may refer to coordinates of a face rectanglethat surrounds the facial region of the first user 108 a. The firstimage-capture device 102 a may be further configured to tag the secondregion 114 b located vertically below the first face coordinates as aprobable foreground region. The third region 116 refers to a region thatexcludes the foreground region in the first self-portrait image 110 aand may be tagged as the background region. Alternatively stated, theregions inside the face coordinates (such as the first region 114 a),and just below the face coordinates (such as the second region 114 b),are marked as the probable foreground region and the remaining regions,that lie for example, left and right of the face rectangle may be markedas probable background region. The first image-capture device 102 a maybe configured to utilize the above tagged regions (for example, theprobable foreground and background regions) to generate aforeground-background matrix. The foreground-background matrix may referto demarcated regions indicative of probable foreground and background.The foreground-background matrix may then be used to generate a FG maskof the first user 108 a devoid of the background region.

In accordance with an embodiment, the first image-capture device 102 amay be configured to utilize one or more foreground-backgroundsegmentation algorithms, for example, a Grabcut algorithm, to generatethe FG mask of the first user 108 a devoid of the background region. Insome embodiments, the first image-capture device 102 a may be configuredto apply erosion and dilation filters to remove certain left-over imageartifacts, such as undesired marks, on and around the FG mask of thefirst user 108 a.

With reference to FIG. 1C, there is shown a segmentation result 118 thatrefers to the background removed image of the first self-portrait image110 a. The first image-capture device 102 a may be configured togenerate the segmentation result 118 that includes the foreground regionthat corresponds to the first user 108 a. The segmentation result 118 isgenerated based on the FG mask of the first user 108 a. In accordancewith an embodiment, the first image-capture device 102 a may beconfigured to multiply the FG mask of the first user 108 a with thefirst self-portrait image 110 a to obtain the segmentation result 118that refers to the background removed image of the first self-portraitimage 110 a, as shown. The first image-capture device 102 a may beconfigured to display the segmentation result 118 of the firstself-portrait image 110 a on the display screen, via the firstapplication 112 a. In certain cases, some portions of background regionmay not be removed completely and may be visible on the firstapplication 112 a. In such cases, the first user 108 a may provide asingle touch input on the visible background portion on the displayscreen by use of the first application 112 a. The first user 108 a maynot be required to provide touch/click input to all regions of thebackground portion. The first image-capture device 102 a may beconfigured to receive a single touch input to remove the remainingbackground portion(s), if any. Based on single touch input, the firstimage-capture device 102 a may be configured to identity similarbackground pixels (similar to pixels touched/clicked for removal) of thebackground region, and remove the identified background pixels from thesegmentation result 118. This reduces manual interaction, and increasesaccuracy of the segmentation result 118 that includes the foregroundregion that corresponds to the first user 108 a. In some embodiments,the first image-capture device 102 a may be configured to smoothen edgesof the segmentation result 118 using edge detectors, for example, Cannyedge detector, known in the art. In some embodiments, the first user 108a may undo the changes by a press or click of a “Back” button. The firstuser 108 a may take a new self-portrait image (i.e. a new selfie) bycancellation of the current composite selfie generation process, by apress or click of a “cancel” button, as shown. The first user 108 a mayalso click or press the “OK” button, in the first application 112 a toselect the segmentation result 118 and proceed to next operation.Thereafter, the first image-capture device 102 a may be configured tosubstitute a first background (mono-colored background pixels, e.g.black colored pixels) of the first self-portrait image 110 a with asecond background. The second background corresponds to the selectedbackground image. The background removal may not be required when anactual scene behind the first user 108 a is selected as an actualbackground. For example, when the first user 108 a selects “Yourbackground” option, where an initiator's actual background (such asactual background scene of the first user 108 a in this case) isselected for the final composite selfie image, the background removalmay not be required.

In accordance with an embodiment, the first image-capture device 102 amay be configured to store the first self-portrait image 110 a of thefirst user 108 a along with the first face coordinates of the first user108 a. The stored first self-portrait image 110 a may include theselected background. Based on the selection of the desired users, forexample, the second user 108 b and the third user 108 c in that order,requests for participation in the composite selfie generation processmay be sent to the selected users in a sequential order of selection.The first image-capture device 102 a may be configured to communicate afirst notification message to the second image-capture device 102 bassociated with the second user 108 b. The first notification messagemay include a request to capture a second self-portrait image of thesecond user 108 b, the user-identifier of the first user 108 a and thefirst face coordinates of the first user 108 a. In accordance with anembodiment, the first notification message may also be a pushnotification sent via the server 104.

With reference to FIG. 1D, there is shown a first notification message120 on the second image-capture device 102 b, displayed via the secondapplication 112 b. The second image-capture device 102 b may beconfigured to receive the first notification message 120 from the firstimage-capture device 102 a. The second user 108 b may click or press thefirst notification message 120. The second image-capture device 102 bmay be configured to open a custom camera viewfinder interface based ona received input that corresponds to selection of the first notificationmessage 120.

With reference to FIG. 1E, there is shown a custom camera viewfinder(CCV) application interface 122 rendered on the second image-capturedevice 102 b. The CCV application interface 122 may include a first facerectangle 124 a, a second face rectangle 124 b, and a view 126 of thesecond user 108 b as viewed through an integrated camera of the secondimage-capture device 102 b at the time of capture of a selfie of thesecond user 108 b by the second image-capture device 102 b. The CCVapplication interface 122 may be a preview generated based on thereceived first notification message 120, before capture of the actualselfie, such as the second self-portrait image 110 b, of the second user108 b. The CCV application interface 122 may be a part of the secondapplication 112 b installed at the second image-capture device 102 b.The second image-capture device 102 b may be configured to controldisplay the first face coordinates of the first user 108 a (for example,the first face rectangle 124 a) on the CCV application interface 122before capture of the second self-portrait image 110 b of the seconduser 108 b. The displayed first face coordinates of the first user 108 a(such as the first face rectangle 124 a) may serve as a reference forthe second user 108 b, who may then position accordingly to capture ofthe second self-portrait image 110 b.

The second image-capture device 102 b may be configured to detect afacial region of the second user 108 b, represented by the second facerectangle 124 b, at the time capture of the second self-portrait image110 b of the second user 108 b, by use of the generated preview. Similarto the first image-capture device 102 a, the second image-capture device102 b may be configured to remove the background region of the secondself-portrait image 110 b. The second image-capture device 102 b may beconfigured to communicate the second self-portrait image 110 b and thesecond face coordinates (represented by the second face rectangle 124 bin this case) of the second user 108 b to the first image-capture device102 a. In some embodiments, the second self-portrait image 110 b and thesecond face coordinates of the second user 108 b may be communicated tothe server 104. In some embodiments, the background removed image of thesecond self-portrait image 110 b, may be communicated to the server 104or the first image-capture device 102 a instead of the secondself-portrait image 110 b.

In accordance with an embodiment, the first image-capture device 102 amay be configured to receive a confirmation message that the secondimage-capture device 102 b has captured the second self-portrait image110 b. In accordance with an embodiment, the confirmation message mayinclude the second self-portrait image 110 b and the second facecoordinates of the second user 108 b. In some embodiments, theconfirmation message may include a link to retrieve the secondself-portrait image 110 b along with the second face coordinates of thesecond user 108 b, from the server 104. After receipt of the secondself-portrait image 110 b and second face coordinates of the second user108 b, the first image-capture device 102 a may be configured togenerate a second notification message for the third image-capturedevice 102 c. The first image-capture device 102 a may be configured tocommunicate the second notification message to the third image-capturedevice 102 c associated with the third user 108 c. The secondnotification message may include a request to capture the thirdself-portrait image 110 c of the third user 108 c, the user-identifierof the first user 108 a, the first face coordinates of the first user108 a, and the received second face coordinates of the second user 108b.

In certain scenarios, where a single user, such as the second user 108b, is selected for the composite selfie generation, the secondnotification message may not be generated. In such cases, the firstimage-capture device 102 a may be configured to adjust, by facenormalization on a portion of the second self-portrait image 110 b, asecond face size of the second user 108 b in accordance with a firstface size of the first user 108 a. The adjustment by face normalizationmay be done based on comparison of the first face coordinates with thesecond face coordinates. The first image-capture device 102 a may befurther configured to adjust, by height normalization on the portion ofthe second self-portrait image 110 b, a second height level of thesecond face coordinates in accordance with a first height level of thefirst face coordinates.

With reference to FIG. 1F, there is shown a first image composition 128of a first composite selfie. The first image-capture device 102 a may befurther configured to generate a first output image, in which a portion130 of the second self-portrait image 110 b may be overlaid on abackground region 132 of the selected background of the firstself-portrait image 110 a of the first user 108 a in the first imagecomposition 128. In some embodiments, the first output image may begenerated based on face normalization 128 b. In some embodiments, thefirst output image may be generated based on face normalization 128 band height normalization 128 a. The first image-capture device 102 a maybe further configured to determine and compare the resolution, facesize, and brightness properties of both the facial regions of the firstuser 108 a and the second user 108 b in the face normalization 128 b.Thereafter, one of the facial regions (such as the portion 130 thatincludes the facial region of the second user 108 b in the secondself-portrait image 110 b) is processed and modified such that both thefacial regions of the first user 108 a and the second user 108 b in thefirst image composition 128 appear to be of similar sizes, resolution,and of same brightness properties by the face normalization 128 b.Further, by the height normalization 128 a, one of the facial regions(such as the portion 130 that includes the facial region of the seconduser 108 b in the second self-portrait image 110 b) is positioned suchthat both the facial regions of the first user 108 a and the second user108 b appear to be at a same or similar height (“h2”) in the first imagecomposition 128, a shown.

In certain scenarios, where a plurality of users, such as the seconduser 108 b and the third user 108 c, are selected for the compositeselfie generation, a second notification message may be communicated tothe third image-capture device 102 c associated with the third user 108c. In some embodiments, a first language of the communicatednotification message, such as the second notification message, may beidentified by the server 104 in cases where the notification messages,such as the second notification message, is communicated via the server104. The first language of the communicated notification messages, suchas the second notification message, may be translated to a secondlanguage in accordance with language settings associated with the thirduser 108 c of the third image-capture device 102 c. The languagesettings may be determined based on a user-defined language preference,a language associated with the geographical region in which therecipient device, such as the third image-capture device 102 c islocated, and/or historical data related to the recipient device, such asthe third image-capture device 102 c.

With reference to FIG. 1G, there is shown a second notification message134 on the third image-capture device 102 c, displayed via the thirdapplication 112 c installed in the third image-capture device 102 c. Thethird image-capture device 102 c may be configured to receive the secondnotification message 134 from the first image-capture device 102 a. Thethird user 108 c may click or press the second notification message 134.The third image-capture device 102 c may be configured to launch a CCVapplication interface based on a received input that corresponds toselection of the second notification message 134.

With reference to FIG. 1H, there is shown a CCV application interface136 rendered on the third image-capture device 102 c. The CCVapplication interface 136 may include the first face rectangle 124 a,the second face rectangle 124 b, a third face rectangle 124 c, and aview 138 of the third user 108 c at the time of capture of a selfie ofthe third user 108 c by the third image-capture device 102 c. The CCVapplication interface 136 may be similar to the CCV applicationinterface 122. The CCV application interface 136 may be a previewgenerated based on the received second notification message 134, beforecapture of the actual selfie, such as the third self-portrait image 110c, of the third user 108 c. The third image-capture device 102 c may beconfigured to control display the first face coordinates of the firstuser 108 a and the second face coordinates of the second user 108 b (forexample, the first face rectangle 124 a and the second face rectangle124 b) on the CCV application interface 136 before capture of the thirdself-portrait image 110 c. The displayed first face coordinates and thesecond face coordinates (such as the first face rectangle 124 a and thesecond face rectangle 124 b) may serve as a reference for the third user108 c, who may then position accordingly for capture of the thirdself-portrait image 110 c. The reference may be indicative of a positionof the first user 108 a and the second user 108 b relative to the thirdface coordinates of the third user 108 c in the third self-portraitimage 110 c that is to be captured. The third image-capture device 102 cmay also be configured to detect a facial region of the third user 108c, represented by the third face rectangle 124 c, at the time capture ofthe third self-portrait image 110 c, by use of the generated preview.Similar to the first image-capture device 102 a and/or the secondimage-capture device 102 b, the third image-capture device 102 c may beconfigured to remove the background region of the third self-portraitimage 110 c.

In some embodiments, the first image-capture device 102 a may beconfigured to communicate a display instruction of a first graphicalemotion indicator 136 a and a second graphical emotion indicator 136 bto the third image-capture device 102 c. The first graphical emotionindicator 136 a may be indicative of the detected facial expression orfacial deformation, for example, a smiling facial expression of thefirst user 108 a. Similarly, the second graphical emotion indicator 136b may be indicative of the detected facial expression or facialdeformation, for example, a neutral expression with raised eyebrows(eyebrows not shown in FIG. 1H), of the second user 108 b. The displayinstruction may include unique expression codes that may be used by therecipient device, such as the third image-capture device 102 c, toidentify the graphical emotion indicators and the position of thegraphical emotion indicators to be displayed. The third image-capturedevice 102 c may be configured to read the received unique expressioncodes and accordingly control display of the first graphical emotionindicator 136 a within the first face coordinates (such as the firstface rectangle 124 a) at the time of capture of the third self-portraitimage 110 c. Similarly, the third image-capture device 102 c may beconfigured to control display of the second graphical emotion indicator136 b within the second face coordinates (such as the second facerectangle 124 b) at the time of capture of the third self-portrait image110 c. The displayed first graphical emotion indicator 136 a and thesecond graphical emotion indicator 136 b may serve as a reference forthe third user 108 c to pose in a same or similar manner to theemotional states and/or face deformations of the first user 108 a and/orthe second user 108 b, as shown. The third image-capture device 102 cmay be configured to capture and then communicate the thirdself-portrait image 110 c and the third face coordinates (represented bythe third face rectangle 124 c) to the first image-capture device 102 a.Similar to the second image-capture device 102 b, the thirdself-portrait image 110 c and the third face coordinates of the thirduser 108 c, may also be communicated to the server 104.

In accordance with an embodiment, the first image-capture device 102 amay be further configured to receive the third self-portrait image 110 cand the third face coordinates of the third user 108 c from the thirdimage-capture device 102 c, based on the communicated secondnotification message 134. The first image-capture device 102 a may befurther configured to execute the face normalization and the heightnormalization on a portion of the third self-portrait image 110 c, basedon the first face coordinates, the second face coordinates, and thethird second face coordinates.

With reference to FIG. 1I, there is shown a second image composition 140of a second composite selfie. The first image-capture device 102 a maybe configured to automatically generate a second output image in whichthe portion 130 of the second self-portrait image 110 b and a portion142 of the third self-portrait image 110 c are concurrently overlaid onthe background region 132 of the selected background of the firstself-portrait image 110 a of the first user 108 a in the second imagecomposition 140. The second output image may be generated based on facenormalization 140 b and the height normalization 140 a. The firstimage-capture device 102 a may be configured to compute a distancebetween an upper edge of each face rectangle (such as each of the facerectangles 124 a, 124 b, and 124 c) using the face coordinates and thetop boundary of each of the self-portrait images 110 a, 110 b, and 110 cafter face normalization 140 b. Thereafter, the first image-capturedevice 102 a may be configured to adjust height level of the second facecoordinates and the third face coordinates in the second imagecomposition 140 in accordance with the height level (such as “h3”) ofthe first face coordinates. The height level may be adjusted based onthe computed distances. The height level of the portion 130 of thesecond self-portrait image 110 b and the portion 142 of the thirdself-portrait image 110 c may be adjusted by the height normalization140 a such that the facial regions of all the users (such as the firstuser 108 a, the second user 108 b, and the third user 108 c) lie at asame or similar height (“h3”) in the second image composition 140, asshown. The disclosed first image-capture device 102 a for automatedcomposite selfie image composition for remote users, such as the seconduser 108 b and the third user 108 c, may be implemented in variousapplication areas, such as automatic video or image editing systems for“usie” or composite selfie image composition. The automated compositeselfie image composition refers to automatic generation of a “compositeselfie” or “usie” based on receipts of multiple self-portrait images ofmultiple users located remotely.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary image-capturedevice, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 2 isexplained in conjunction with elements from FIGS. 1A to 1I. Withreference to FIG. 2, there is shown the first image-capture device 102a. The first image-capture device 102 a may include one or morecircuits, such as an image processor 202, a memory 204, and an imagenormalizer 206, an I/O device 208, and a network interface 210. The I/Odevice 208 may include a display screen 208A and sensor circuitry 208B.The sensor circuitry 208B is shown as an integrated unit of the firstimage-capture device 102 a, in an example. The image processor 202 maybe communicatively coupled with the memory 204, the image normalizer206, the I/O device 208, and the network interface 210. The networkinterface 210 may facilitate communication with the server 104, viacommunication network 106. The first image-capture device 102 a may besimilar to the second image-capture device 102 b and the thirdimage-capture device 102 c.

The image processor 202 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces, and/or code that may be configured to receive one or moreself-portrait images and face coordinates of one or more users from oneor more other image-capture devices, such as the second image-capturedevice 102 b and the third image-capture device 102 c. The imageprocessor 202 may be configured to generate a final output self-portraitimage, such as a composite selfie (i.e. a usie), based on the receivedone or more self-portrait images. The image processor 202 may beconfigured to execute a set of instructions stored in the memory 204.The image processor 202 may be implemented based on a number ofprocessor technologies known in the art. Examples of the image processor202 may be a Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) processor, anApplication-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) processor, a ComplexInstruction Set Computing (CISC), a hardware processor, a centralprocessing unit (CPU), and/or other processors or control circuits.

The memory 204 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, and/or interfacesthat may be configured to store self-portrait images of different users(such as the first user 108 a and the second user 108 b) in associationwith face coordinates of the corresponding users. The memory 204 mayalso store a set of instructions executable by the image processor 202.The memory 204 may be configured to store operating systems andassociated applications. Examples of implementation of the memory 204may include, but are not limited to, Random Access Memory (RAM), ReadOnly Memory (ROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory(EEPROM), Hard Disk Drive (HDD), a Solid-State Drive (SSD), a CPU cache,and/or a Secure Digital (SD) card.

The image normalizer 206 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces, and/or code that may be configured to adjust face sizes ofdifferent users by face normalization on certain portions (portion thatincludes a facial region of a user) of different self-portrait images.The adjusted face sizes may then be used to generate a final outputimage, such as a composite selfie or usie image of remote users. Theimage normalizer 206 may be implemented as a separate processor (such asa coprocessor), or circuitry in the first image-capture device 102 a.The image normalizer 206 and the image processor 202 may be implementedas an integrated processor, an integrated circuit, or a cluster ofprocessors that perform the functions for the image normalizer 206 andthe image processor 202.

The I/O device 208 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces,and/or code that may be configured to receive an input and provide anoutput to a user. The I/O device 208 may comprise various input andoutput devices that may be configured to communicate with the imageprocessor 202. Examples of the input devices may include, but notlimited to, a touch screen, a keyboard, a mouse, a joystick, amicrophone, and/or the sensor circuitry 208B. Examples of the outputdevices may include, but not limited to, the display screen 208A and/ora speaker.

The display screen 208A may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces, and/or code that may be configured to render thesegmentation result 118 via the first application 112 a. In accordancewith an embodiment, the display screen 208A may be able to receive inputfrom a user. In such a scenario, the display screen 208A may be a touchscreen that enables the user to provide input. The touch screen maycorrespond to at least one of a resistive touch screen, a capacitivetouch screen, or a thermal touch screen. In accordance with anembodiment, the display screen 208A may receive the input through avirtual keypad, a stylus, a gesture-based input, and/or a touch-basedinput. The display screen 208A may be realized through several knowntechnologies such as, but not limited to, at least one of a LiquidCrystal Display (LCD) display, a Light Emitting Diode (LED) display, aplasma display, and/or an Organic LED (OLED) display technology, and/orother display. In accordance with an embodiment, the display screen 208Amay refer to a display screen of smart-glass device, a see-throughdisplay, a projection-based display, an electro-chromic display, acut-to-shape display, and/or a transparent display.

The network interface 210 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces, and/or code that may be configured to facilitatecommunication between the first image-capture device 102 a and theserver 104, via the communication network 106. The network interface 210may also facilitate communication between the first image-capture device102 a and other image-capture devices, such as the second image-capturedevice 102 b and the third image-capture device 102 c. The networkinterface 210 may be implemented by use of various known technologies tosupport wired or wireless communication of the first image-capturedevice 102 a with the communication network 106. The network interface210 may include, but is not limited to, an antenna, a radio frequency(RF) transceiver, one or more amplifiers, a tuner, one or moreoscillators, a digital signal processor, a coder-decoder (CODEC)chipset, a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, and/or a local buffer.The network interface 210 may communicate via wireless communicationwith networks, such as the Internet, an Intranet and/or a wirelessnetwork, such as a cellular telephone network, a wireless local areanetwork (LAN) and/or a metropolitan area network (MAN). The wirelesscommunication may use any of a plurality of communication standards,protocols and technologies, such as Global System for MobileCommunications (GSM), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), widebandcode division multiple access (W-CDMA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), codedivision multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA),Bluetooth, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) (such as IEEE 802.11a, IEEE802.11b, IEEE 802.11g and/or IEEE 802.11n), voice over Internet Protocol(VoIP), light fidelity (Li-Fi), Wi-MAX, a protocol for email, instantmessaging, and/or Short Message Service (SMS).

The functions and/or operations performed by the first image-capturedevice 102 a, as described in FIGS. 1A to 1I, may be performed by theimage processor 202 and/or the image normalizer 206. Other operationsperformed by the image processor 202 and the image normalizer 206 arefurther described, for example, in the FIGS. 3A and 3B.

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C collectively, depict a flow chart that illustratesan exemplary method for composite selfie image composition for remoteusers, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. Withreference to FIGS. 3A and 3B, there is shown a flow chart 300. The flowchart 300 implemented in an image-capture device, such as the firstimage-capture device 102 a, is described in conjunction with elementsfrom FIGS. 1A to 1I, and 2. The method starts at 302 and proceeds to304.

At 304, the first image-capture device 102 a may be registered to adistant selfie service, by use of the first application 112 a. The imageprocessor 202 may be configured to register the first image-capturedevice 102 a to a service, such as the distant selfie service, by use ofthe first application 112 a installed in the memory 204. In accordancewith an embodiment, the distant selfie service may be provided by theserver 104. In such embodiment, the first image-capture device 102 a, byuse of the first application 112 a, may be configured to communicate aregistration request, via the network interface 210, to the server 104.Similar to the first image-capture device 102 a, other image-capturedevices, such as the second image-capture device 102 b and the thirdimage-capture device 102 c, may also register to the distant selfieservice, by use of their corresponding applications, such as the secondapplication 112 b and the third application 112 c.

At 306, an input may be received to select a distant-selfie mode, viathe first application 112 a, to initiate a composite selfie generationprocess. The image processor 202 may be configured to receive the inputto select the distant-selfie mode, via the first application 112 a. Thedistant-selfie mode may refer to a camera setting in the firstapplication 112 a that initiates the composite selfie, for example a“usie” generation process for remote users.

At 308, one or more desired users to whom requests for selfie are to besend 308 may be selected via the first application 112 a. The imageprocessor 202 may be configured to select one or more desired users, forexample, the second user 108 b and the third user 108 c, via the firstapplication 112 a. A contact list of users, such as friends, family, orother users, may be displayed via the first application 112 a for theselection.

At 310, an input that corresponds to selection of a background for aselfie to be captured by the first image-capture device 102 a, may bereceived. The image processor 202 may be configured to receive the inputthat corresponds to selection of a background for a selfie (such as thefirst self-portrait image 110 a) to be captured by the firstimage-capture device 102 a. For example, images of famous places oruser-selected images may be stored as background images in the memory204 of the first image-capture device 102 a. Such images may bedisplayed via the first application 112 a on the first image-capturedevice 102 a for selection. An actual scene behind the first user 108 amay also be selected as an actual background. For example, the firstuser 108 a may select “Your background” option, where an initiator'sactual background (such as actual background scene of the first user 108a) may be selected for the final composite selfie image.

At 312, it may be determined whether the selected background is apre-stored image. The image processor 202 may be configured to determinewhether the selected background is a pre-stored image. In cases wherethe selected background is a pre-stored image, the control may pass to314. In cases where the selected background is the actual backgroundscene in the field-of-view of the sensor circuitry 208B, the control maypass to 316.

At 314, an actual background region of the first self-portrait image 110a may be removed. The image processor 202 may be configured to removethe actual background region of the first self-portrait image 110 a thatis captured by the sensor circuitry 208B of the first image-capturedevice 102 a. In accordance with an embodiment, the image processor 202may be configured to create a background-foreground matrix for thebackground removal. An example of background removal process in thefirst self-portrait image 110 a is shown and described in the FIGS. 1Band 1C. The image processor 202 may be configured to substitute a firstbackground, for example, the actual background region, of the firstself-portrait image 110 a with a second background (i.e. the selectedbackground), based on the selection of the background image from theplurality of background images pre-stored in the memory 204.

At 316, a facial region of the first user 108 a may be detected in afirst field-of-view of the first image-capture device 102 a at the timeof capture of the first self-portrait image 110 a. The image processor202 may be configured to detect the facial region of the first user 108a in the first field-of-view of the sensor circuitry 208B (such as afront camera of the first image-capture device 102 a) at the time ofcapture of the first self-portrait image 110 a.

At 318, a facial expression of first user 108 a may be detected based oncapture of the first self-portrait image 110 a of the first user 108 a.The image processor 202 may be configured to detect the facialexpression of the first user 108 a in the first field-of-view of thesensor circuitry 208B at the time of capture of the first self-portraitimage 110 a. For example, the first user 108 a may make different typeof faces with different emotions, for example, frog face, pout face,tilted face, one eye-closed, raised eye brows, or other types of facialdeformations with different expressions or emotions, such as smile,anger, neutral, and the like.

At 320, the first self-portrait image 110 a of the first user 108 a maybe stored along with the first face coordinates of the first user 108 a.The image processor 202 may be configured to store the firstself-portrait image 110 a of the first user 108 a along with the firstface coordinates of the first user 108 a. In accordance with anembodiment, the image processor 202 may be configured to store thedetected facial expression and deformations of first user 108 a as aunique expression code. Each unique expression code may be associatedwith a graphical emotion indicator of a plurality of graphical emotionindicators stored in the memory 204 or the server 104.

At 322 (FIG. 3B), a first notification message may be communicated tothe second image-capture device 102 b associated with the second user108 b. The image processor 202 may be configured to communicate thefirst notification message (such as the first notification message 120FIG. 1D), to the second image-capture device 102 b associated with thesecond user 108 b. The first notification message may include a requestto capture a second self-portrait image of the second user 108 b, theuser-identifier, such as contact number, of the first user 108 a and thefirst face coordinates of the first user 108 a. In accordance with anembodiment, the first notification message may also be a pushnotification communicated in conjunction with the server 104.

At 324, a display instruction of a first graphical emotion indicator,which is indicative of the detected facial expression (or facialdeformation) of the first user 108 a, may be communicated to the secondimage-capture device 102 b. In accordance with an embodiment, the imageprocessor 202 may be configured to communicate the display instructionvia the first notification message as the unique expression code insteadof actual image or icon, to save network bandwidth and reduce amount ofdata transmitted, via the communication network 106. The first graphicalemotion indicator (such as the first graphical emotion indicator 136 a)may be displayed within the first face coordinates on the secondimage-capture device 102 b based on the display instruction. The firstgraphical emotion indicator displayed within the first face coordinatesmay be a reference for the second user 108 b indicative of a firstemotional state and/or face deformation, such as a pout face, of thefirst user 108 a, to allow the second user 108 b (who may be at a remotelocation) to pose in a second emotional state and/or face deformationsimilar to the first emotional state or face deformation of the firstuser 108 a.

At 326, the second self-portrait image 110 b and second face coordinatesof second user 108 b may be received from the second image-capturedevice 102 b based on communicated first notification message. The imageprocessor 202 may be configured to receive the second self-portraitimage 110 b and the second face coordinates of second user 108 b, viathe network interface 210. In accordance with an embodiment, aconfirmation message that the second image-capture device 102 b hascaptured the second self-portrait image 110 b, may be received. Theconfirmation message may include the second self-portrait image 110 band the second face coordinates of the second user 108 b.

At 328, a second face size of the second user 108 b may be adjusted inaccordance with a first face size of the first user 108 a in the firstself-portrait image 110 a, based on the first face coordinates and thereceived second face coordinates. The adjustment is done by facenormalization on a portion of the second self-portrait image 110 b. Theportion of the second self-portrait image 110 b, in which the facialregion of the second user 108 b is detected, may be normalized by theface normalization. The image normalizer 206 may be configured toadjust, by face normalization on the portion of the second self-portraitimage 110 b, the second face size of the second user 108 b in accordancewith the first face size of the first user 108 a in the firstself-portrait image 110 a. The image normalizer 206, by applying theface normalization operation, may determine and compare the resolution,face size, and brightness properties of both the facial regions of thefirst user 108 a and the second user 108 b. Thereafter, at one of thefacial regions (such as the portion that includes the facial region ofthe second user 108 b in the second self-portrait image 110 b) isprocessed and modified such that both the facial regions of the firstuser 108 a and the second user 108 b appear to be of similar sizes,resolution, and of same brightness properties.

At 330, a second height level of the second face coordinates may beadjusted in accordance with a first height level of the first facecoordinates, by the height normalization on the portion of the secondself-portrait image 110 b. The image normalizer 206 may be configured toadjust, by height normalization on the portion of the secondself-portrait image 110 b, a second height level of the second facecoordinates in accordance with a first height level of the first facecoordinates of the first user 108 a. The image normalizer 206 may beconfigured to compute a first distance between an upper edge of thefirst face rectangle 124 a using the first face coordinates (obtainedbased on the face detection of first user 108 a) and the top boundary ofthe first self-portrait image 110 a after face normalization. The topboundary corresponds to an image boundary above the facial region of thefirst user 108 a in the first self-portrait image 110 a. Similar to thefirst distance computation in the first self-portrait image 110 a, theimage normalizer 206 may be configured to compute a second distancebetween an upper edge of the second face rectangle 124 b using thesecond face coordinates (obtained based on the face detection of seconduser 108 b) and the top boundary of the second self-portrait image 110b. Thereafter, the image normalizer 206 may be configured to position aportion (portion that includes a foreground region of the second user108 b) of the second self-portrait image 110 b in the same position asof the computed first distance. In other words, one of the facialregions (such as the portion 130 that includes the facial region of thesecond user 108 b in the second self-portrait image 110 b) is positionedsuch that both the facial regions of the first user 108 a and the seconduser 108 b appear to be at a same or similar height. An example ofheight normalization 128 a is shown in FIG. 1F.

At 332, a first output image may be generated, in which the portion 130of the second self-portrait image 110 b may be overlaid on thebackground region 132 of the selected background of the firstself-portrait image 110 a of the first user 108 a in the first imagecomposition 128. The first output image, such as a composite selfie, maybe generated by the image processor 202 based on at least the facenormalization. In some embodiments, the first output image may begenerated by the image processor 202 based on the face normalization andthe height normalization. An example of the first output image, such asthe first self-portrait image 110 a as a composite selfie, generatedbased on the face normalization 128 b and the height normalization 128a, is shown in FIG. 1F.

At 334, it may be determined whether the count of desired users selectedvia the first application 112 a, to whom further requests for selfie areto be send, greater than one. The image processor 202 may be configuredto determine whether the count of desired users selected via the firstapplication 112 a, to whom further requests for selfie are to be sent,is greater than one. In cases where the count of desired users selectedis equal to one, such as the second user 108 b, the control may pass toend 346, else to 336 (FIG. 3C).

At 336, a second notification message may be communicated to the thirdimage-capture device 102 c associated with the third user 108 c. Theimage processor 202 may be configured to communicate the secondnotification message (such as the second notification message 134, FIG.1G) to the third image-capture device 102 c associated with the thirduser 108 c. The second notification message may include a request tocapture the third self-portrait image 110 c of the third user 108 c, theuser-identifier of the first user 108 a, the first face coordinates ofthe first user 108 a, and the received second face coordinates of thesecond user 108 b. The first face coordinates and the second facecoordinates are displayed on the third image-capture device 102 c as areference before capture of the third self-portrait image 110 c of thethird user 108 c. The reference is indicative of a position of the faceof the first user 108 a and the second user 108 b relative to the thirdface coordinates of the third user 108 c at the time of capture of thethird self-portrait image 110 c. An example of the reference to indicatethe position of the face of the first user 108 a and the second user 108b (the remote users) by display of additional face rectangles 124 a and124 b, at the time of capture of the third self-portrait image 110 c, isshown and described in FIG. 1H. Similar to the second image-capturedevice 102 b, a display instruction may also be communicated to thethird image-capture device 102 c to control display of the firstgraphical emotion indicator (such as the first graphical emotionindicator 136 a) displayed within the first face coordinates and asecond graphical emotion indicator (such as the second graphical emotionindicator 136 b) within the second face coordinates. The displayed firstgraphical emotion indicator and the second graphical emotion indicatormay serve as a reference for the third user 108 c to pose similar to theemotional states and/or face deformations of the first user 108 a and/orthe second user 108 b.

At 338, the third self-portrait image 110 c and the third facecoordinates of the third user 108 c may be received from the thirdimage-capture device 102 c based on the communicated second notificationmessage. The image processor 202 may be configured to receive the thirdself-portrait image 110 c and the third face coordinates of the thirduser 108 c from the third image-capture device 102 c.

At 340, face normalization and height normalization may be executed on aportion of the third self-portrait image 110 c, based on the first facecoordinates, the second face coordinates, and the third second facecoordinates. The image normalizer 206 may be configured to execute theface normalization 140 b and the height normalization 140 a (FIG. 1I) ona portion (such as the portion 142) of the third self-portrait image 110c, based on the first face coordinates, the second face coordinates, andthe third second face coordinates.

At 342, a second output image may be generated in which the portion 130of the second self-portrait image 110 b and the portion 142 of the thirdself-portrait image 110 c are concurrently overlaid on the backgroundregion 132 of the selected background of the first self-portrait image110 a in the second image composition 140, based on the facenormalization 140 b and the height normalization 140 a. The imageprocessor 202 may be configured to automatically generate the secondoutput image, such as a composite selfie comprising the users 108 a, 108b, and 108 c.

At 344, it may be determined whether the count of received self-portraitimages is equal to the count of desired users selected via the firstapplication 112 a. The image processor 202 may be configured todetermine whether the count of received self-portrait images (such asthe second self-portrait image 110 b and the third self-portrait image110 c) is equal to the count of desired users (such as the second user108 b and the third user 108 c) selected via the first application 112a. In cases where the count of received self-portrait images is lessthan the count of desired users selected via the first application 112a, the control may return to 336 to communicate another notificationmessage to a next image-capture device. In cases where the count ofreceived self-portrait images is equal to the count of desired usersselected via the first application 112 a, the control may pass to end346.

In accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure, a device (e.g. thefirst image-capture device 102 a) for composite selfie image compositionfor remote users, is disclosed. The device, such as the firstimage-capture device 102 a (FIG. 1A), may comprise at least one imageprocessor (such as the image processor 202 (FIG. 2)) and the memory 204(FIG. 2). The memory 204 may be configured to store the firstself-portrait image 110 a of the first user 108 a associated with thefirst image-capture device 102 a along with first face coordinates ofthe first user 108 a. The first self-portrait image 110 a may include aselected background. The image processor 202 may be configured tocommunicate a first notification message to the second image-capturedevice 102 b associated with the second user 108 b. The firstnotification message may include a request to capture the secondself-portrait image 110 b of the second user 108 b, a user-identifier ofthe first user 108 a and the first face coordinates of the first user108 a. The image processor 202 may be further configured to receive thesecond self-portrait image 110 b and second face coordinates of thesecond user 108 b from the second image-capture device 102 b based onthe communicated first notification message. The image processor 202 maybe further configured to adjust, by face normalization on the portion130 of the second self-portrait image 110 b, a second face size of thesecond user 108 b in accordance with a first face size of the first user108 a. The adjustment by face normalization may be done based on thefirst face coordinates and the second face coordinates. The imageprocessor 202 may be further configured to generate a first output imagein which the portion 130 of the second self-portrait image 110 b may beoverlaid on the background region 132 of the selected background of thefirst self-portrait image 110 a of the first user 108 a in the firstimage composition 128. The first output image may be generated based onat least the face normalization.

In some embodiments, the first image-capture device 102 a may specify atotal time limit to generate the first output image, such as a compositeselfie, for a selected number of users. The selected number of users mayalso be referred to as authorized users. In some embodiments, if theoperations related to the generation of the first output image iscompleted within the specified total time limit, and additional time isremaining, a notification message to try the “distant selfie” featuremay also be send to certain other users, which may be referred to asunauthorized participants or previously non-selected participants.

Various embodiments of the disclosure may provide a non-transitorycomputer readable medium and/or storage medium, where there is storedtherein, a set of instructions executable by a machine and/or a computerfor composite selfie image composition for remote users. The set ofinstructions may cause the machine and/or computer to store the firstself-portrait image 110 a of the first user 108 a associated with thefirst image-capture device 102 a along with first face coordinates ofthe first user 108 a in the memory 204. The first self-portrait image110 a may include a selected background. A first notification messagemay be communicated to the second image-capture device 102 b associatedwith the second user 108 b. The first notification message may include arequest to capture the second self-portrait image 110 b of the seconduser 108 b, a user-identifier of the first user 108 a and the first facecoordinates of the first user 108 a. The second self-portrait image 110b and second face coordinates of the second user 108 b may be receivedfrom the second image-capture device 102 b based on the communicatedfirst notification message. By face normalization on the portion 130 ofthe second self-portrait image 110 b, a second face size of the seconduser 108 b may be adjusted in accordance with a first face size of thefirst user 108 a. The adjustment by face normalization may be done basedon the first face coordinates and the second face coordinates. A firstoutput image may be generated in which the portion 130 of the secondself-portrait image 110 b may be overlaid on the background region 132of the selected background of the first self-portrait image 110 a of thefirst user 108 a in the first image composition 128. The first outputimage may be generated based on at least the face normalization.

The present disclosure may be realized in hardware, or a combination ofhardware and software. The present disclosure may be realized in acentralized fashion, in at least one computer system, or in adistributed fashion, where different elements may be spread acrossseveral interconnected computer systems. A computer system or otherapparatus adapted to carry out the methods described herein may besuited. A combination of hardware and software may be a computer systemwith a computer program that, when loaded and executed, may control thecomputer system such that it carries out the methods described herein.The present disclosure may be realized in hardware that comprises aportion of an integrated circuit that also performs other functions.

The present disclosure may also be embedded in a computer programproduct, which comprises all the features that enable the implementationof the methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computersystem is able to carry out these methods. Computer program, in thepresent context, means any expression, in any language, code ornotation, of a set of instructions intended to cause a system with aninformation processing capability to perform a particular functioneither directly, or after either or both of the following: a) conversionto another language, code or notation; b) reproduction in a differentmaterial form.

While the present disclosure has been described with reference tocertain embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the artthat various changes may be made and equivalents may be substitutedwithout departure from the scope of the present disclosure. In addition,many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation ormaterial to the teachings of the present disclosure without departurefrom its scope. Therefore, it is intended that the present disclosurenot be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but that thepresent disclosure will include all embodiments that fall within thescope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A first image-capture device, comprising: amemory configured to store: a first self-portrait image of a first userassociated with said first image-capture device, and first facecoordinates of said first user, wherein said first self-portrait imageincludes a selected background; and an image processor configured to:detect a facial expression of said first user based on capture of saidfirst self-portrait image of said first user; communicate a firstnotification message to a second image-capture device associated with asecond user, wherein said first notification message includes: a requestto capture a second self-portrait image of said second user, auser-identifier that identifies said first user, and said first facecoordinates of said first user; communicate a display instruction of afirst graphical emotion indicator to said second image-capture devicevia said first notification message, wherein said first graphicalemotion indicator is indicative of said facial expression of said firstuser, said first graphical emotion indicator is displayed within saidfirst face coordinates on said second image-capture device based on saiddisplay instruction, and said first graphical emotion indicatordisplayed within said first face coordinates is a first referenceindicative of a first emotional state of said first user; receive saidsecond self-portrait image and second face coordinates of said seconduser from said second image-capture device based on said communicatedfirst notification message and said display instruction; adjust, by facenormalization on a portion of said second self-portrait image, a secondface size of said second user based on a first face size of said firstuser; adjust, by height normalization on said portion of said secondself-portrait image, a second height level of said second facecoordinates based on a first height level of said first facecoordinates; and generate a first output image based on said facenormalization and said height normalization, wherein said first outputimage comprises said portion of said second self-portrait image overlaidon a background region of said selected background of said firstself-portrait image of said first user in a first image composition. 2.The first image-capture device according to claim 1, wherein said imageprocessor is further configured to detect said first face coordinates ofsaid first user based on said capture of said first self-portrait imageof said first user.
 3. The first image-capture device according to claim2, wherein said image processor is further configured to tag a firstregion inside said first face coordinates and a second region locatedvertically below said first face coordinates as a foreground region, anda third region that excludes said foreground region in said firstself-portrait image is tagged as said background region.
 4. The firstimage-capture device according to claim 1, wherein said memory isfurther configured to store a plurality of background images; and saidimage processor is further configured to substitute a first backgroundof said first self-portrait image with a second background, based on aselection of a background image from said stored plurality of backgroundimages.
 5. The first image-capture device according to claim 1, whereinsaid memory is further configured to store an application; and saidimage processor is further configured to receive an input to select adistant-selfie mode via said stored application to initiate a firstoutput image generation process.
 6. The first image-capture deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein said image processor is further configuredto: communicate a second notification message to a third image-capturedevice associated with a third user, wherein said second notificationmessage includes: said request to capture a third self-portrait image ofsaid third user, said user-identifier of said first user, said firstface coordinates of said first user, and said second face coordinates ofsaid second user, said first face coordinates and said second facecoordinates are displayed on said third image-capture device as a secondreference based on said capture of said third self-portrait image ofsaid third user, and said second reference is indicative of a positionof said first user and said second user relative to third facecoordinates of said third user in said third self-portrait image.
 7. Thefirst image-capture device according to claim 6, wherein said imageprocessor is further configured to receive said third self-portraitimage and said third face coordinates of said third user from said thirdimage-capture device based on said communicated second notificationmessage.
 8. The first image-capture device according to claim 6, whereinsaid image processor is further configured to execute said facenormalization and said height normalization on a portion of said thirdself-portrait image based on said first face coordinates, said secondface coordinates, and said third face coordinates.
 9. The firstimage-capture device according to claim 8, wherein said image processoris further configured to generate a second output image based on saidface normalization and said height normalization, said second outputimage comprises said portion of said second self-portrait image and saidportion of said third self-portrait image concurrently overlaid on saidbackground region of said selected background of said firstself-portrait image of said first user in a second image composition.10. An image-processing method, comprising: in a first image-capturedevice that includes a memory and an image processor: storing, by saidmemory: a first self-portrait image of a first user associated with saidfirst image-capture device, and first face coordinates of said firstuser, wherein said first self-portrait image includes a selectedbackground; and detecting a facial expression of said first user basedon capture of said first self-portrait image of said first user;communicating, by said image processor, a first notification message toa second image-capture device associated with a second user, whereinsaid first notification message includes: a request to capture a secondself-portrait image of said second user, a user-identifier thatidentifies said first user, and said first face coordinates of saidfirst user; communicating a display instruction of a first graphicalemotion indicator to said second image-capture device via said firstnotification message, wherein said first graphical emotion indicator isindicative of said facial expression of said first user, said firstgraphical emotion indicator is displayed within said first facecoordinates on said second image-capture device based on said displayinstruction, and said first graphical emotion indicator displayed withinsaid first face coordinates is a reference indicative of a firstemotional state of said first user; receiving, by said image processor,said second self-portrait image and second face coordinates of saidsecond user from said second image-capture device based on saidcommunicated first notification message and said display instruction;adjusting, by said image processor, by face normalization on a portionof said second self-portrait image, a second face size of said seconduser based on a first face size of said first user; adjusting, by heightnormalization on said portion of said second self-portrait image, asecond height level of said second face coordinates based on a firstheight level of said first face coordinates; and generating, by saidimage processor, a first output image based on at least said facenormalization and said height normalization, wherein said first outputimage comprises said portion of said second self-portrait image overlaidon a background region of said selected background of said firstself-portrait image of said first user in a first image composition. 11.The method according to claim 10, further comprising detecting, by saidimage processor, said first face coordinates of said first user based onsaid capture of said first self-portrait image of said first user. 12.The method according to claim 10, further comprising tagging, by saidimage processor, a first region inside said first face coordinates and asecond region located vertically below said first face coordinates as aforeground region, wherein a third region excluding said foregroundregion in said first self-portrait image is tagged as said backgroundregion.
 13. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:storing, by said memory, a plurality of background images; andsubstituting, by said image processor, a first background of said firstself-portrait image with a second background, based on a selection of abackground image from said stored plurality of background images storedin said memory.
 14. The method according to claim 10, furthercomprising: storing, said memory, an application; and receiving, by saidimage processor, an input to select a distant-selfie mode via saidstored application to initiate a first output image generation process.